Written - Local Government Policy Statement 2007

Today I have published the Local Government Policy Statement  “A Shared Responsibility”.  The policy statement outlines the way forward for local government to deliver the commitments made in ‘Making the Connections: Delivering Beyond Boundaries’, the Welsh Assembly Government’s response to the Beecham review, ‘Beyond Boundaries’.  The broad principles within Making the Connections: Delivering Beyond Boundaries relate to the better integration of public services, the need for more consistency in their performance and hence more effective performance management.  They also describe the need for a more engaged leadership style from the Welsh Assembly Government.  These principles are further developed in A Shared Responsibility.

To achieve better service delivery our local government policy statement focuses on three key areas: governance, scrutiny, and better information and performance appraisal.

To develop these three key areas we need to create conditions to develop a new approach to local governance for public service delivery in the form of Local Service Boards and Local Service Agreements. We will also need to focus on the commensurate development of a vibrant and effective, cross sector model of scrutiny, blending participatory and representative democratic approaches and to do this we must generate excellent local and national information on citizen satisfaction and local authority performance.

The Welsh Assembly Government is seeking measure-making powers for the National Assembly through the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill in order to propose legislative provisions which will implement this policy programme.

Governance

In relation to governance, the policy statement builds on the recommendations in Making the Connections: Delivering Beyond Boundaries to set up Local Service Boards and Local Service Agreements across Wales.  Local government will convene public service organisations on an equal footing to improve local service delivery and tackle our most intractable, cross boundary issues. The ability of local authorities to act as genuine community leaders, and sensitive convenors of local public services, will be central to our success over the next five years.

The policy statement also outlines how we will address the coherence of public services operating at several different levels, in order for national, regional, sub regional and local activity to be aligned and simplified.  Our intention is to create a national framework where the Wales Spatial Plan at a national and regional level and the Community Strategy at a local service delivery level will be connected.  This process of alignment will be achieved through dialogue, learning and joint action.

The emerging role of the Welsh Local Government Association’s Regional Partnership Boards will also be an important feature of the regional and sub regional picture over the next few years.  They should support joining up and collaboration between local authorities and public services.  They should also help the Welsh Assembly Government and public services to make the most of the Welsh pound and ensure that the citizen receives the best possible level of service from the provider.  Value Wales has a key role in supporting this development.  It has been successful in catalysing improved regional and national procurement, but there is much more to do in supporting the development of larger, more ambitious collaborations and shared services.

We must also ensure that we listen and respond to peoples’ views as our policy programme develops impact on improved service planning, design and integration. The voluntary/third sector has an essential role to play in connecting people with service providers, as do community and town councils – they should provide strong communications and a focus on very local quality of life issues, as well as providing options for service delivery.

Scrutiny

The reform of public services in Wales will lead to an increase over the next few years in services being delivered through partnerships of two or more local authorities and by local authorities collaborating with other organisations.  The development of Local Service Boards will undoubtedly require a broader, public service model of scrutiny.

The Welsh Assembly Government is seeking measure-making powers for the National Assembly through the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill in order to propose legislative provisions which could change the operation of political structures, including scrutiny.

A refreshed scrutiny model will ensure that cross service activity is challenged effectively and expertly.  The policy statement develops a new role for the non-executive (“backbench”) member in leading an approach to scrutiny, which is cross service, constructive and engaging, participatory and expert as well as representative.  We want our non-executive members to be champions for the most vulnerable people in our society, to guide them to the services they need and to challenge the system to be simpler and better.

Information

The production of better information on citizen satisfaction and local authority performance is vital for improvement.  Our policy programme must be supported by better performance information and intelligence that citizens find meaningful and engaging; and that inform public services to improve.  Performance Wales will provide some of this underpinning information.  It will generate citizen focused reporting, from Local Service Boards and Local Service Agreements, based principally on sectoral performance frameworks, and local performance profiles.  We will develop the Performance Measurement Framework, in collaboration with our local and national partners, to ensure comprehensive coverage of local authority services without creating undue burdens. We will also publish an initial set of national service standards for key services, so citizens can see the core services to which they are entitled, wherever they live.

Finance and workforce

There are some other fundamentals that will underpin the development of our policy programme in relation to governance, scrutiny and information.

We await publication of the Lyons review on Local Government finance, but we remain committed to ensuring that the funding of local government is more widely understood.  We are committed to implementing three-year revenue and capital allocations to allow local government to improve financial planning; and we wish to take a more strategic approach to national and local capital investment and budget pooling.

The key role played by the workforce in delivering this policy programme also needs to be at the centre of our thinking. We need to build on Public Service Management Wales’ endeavours through its various forums and workstreams.  In particular, partnership with the trade unions will remain key, and we will pursue this through PSMW and the continued development of our public services workforce forum.

Conclusion

This policy programme is a challenge for the Welsh Assembly Government and Welsh local government.  It will require consistent political and managerial leadership at all levels. Based on cooperation Public Service Management Wales will provide support to developing the necessary skills for all those involved in taking forward this model in Wales.

We have achieved a great deal in the local government community over the last five years. We have excellent partners in the wider public service. These partners are as committed as we are to delivering this policy programme and to pursuing the aim of Wales becoming an international exemplar of how accessible public services should be planned and delivered in a small country.